The Hindu : Front Page : Jahnu Barua joins protest by North-East film-makers

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Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008
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Jahnu Barua joins protest by North-East film-makers 4

Ziya Us Salam

PANAJI: National award-winner Jahnu Barua has joined the protest by the North-East film-makers who have complained of harassment and discrimination at the ongoing International Film Festival of India in Goa.

Coming out in support of the aggrieved film-makers, Mr. Barua said, “I join the protest.” Feeling “discriminated against,” he promised to raise his voice for the film-makers from the region.

Earlier, debutant director Maniram had complained to the Directorate of Film Festival about the “unprofessional scheduling” of his film, Mon Jai (I Feel Like). “It is another example of the discriminatory attitude of the Centre towards the North-East,” he said.

A couple of other film-makers from Assam, Gautam Saikia and Gautam Bora, had similarly complained of harassment. While Mr. Saikia was denied entry to the screening of his own film, Mr. Bora, a jury member, did not have any better luck at another screening. Tripura film-maker Joseph Pulinthanath had to undergo the embarrassment of his film being confused with Arunachal Pradesh by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma at the film’s premiere.

Mr. Maniram said, “Mon Jai (I Feel Like), the Assamese entry in the Indian Panorama section of 39th IFFI, is one of the two films scheduled for a late screening (10 p.m.), and our small film, representing the crisis-ridden Assamese film industry, cannot even be compared to the other film, Jodha Akbar in Hindi, which is a big Bollywood venture that has been released worldwide already.

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